Moving House: The Ultimate Guide

By Joshua Chadwick March 11th

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Key Points

Preparing a change of address checklist, assessing a condition report and guide to cleaning your old property.
Understanding how to pack your life into a cardboard box, decluttering and utilising a moving checklist.
Moving day costs, involving DIY or professional moving as well as contents insurance.
Circumstantial moving day woes and how to protect your bond in a rental.
Guide to moving for the first time, including renting tips and using a utility connection service to ensure your power is on for moving day.

Whether it’s your first time moving or simply one of many, moving house can be a stressful time, from planning the big move with removalist arrangements to the moving day itself or even the unpacking afterwards.

Moving to a new address requires preparation and plenty of determination, often seeming more overwhelming than initially anticipated. A common question thrown around is; Where do I start when moving house?

Fortunately, there are many great answers to this question, as well as resources available to assist you in moving home, to which we hope to provide the same usefulness here with our Ultimate Guide on Moving House.

Preparing the Big Move

To put it down to basics, moving house is all about getting items from A to B, the former being your current living area, and the latter your new home.

However, there are nagging little things that should be sorted before preparing that first cardboard box full of valuables for the move.

For instance, informing who you’ll have to notify of your change of address is an aspect of moving that is often forgotten even amongst the most experienced of movers.

Renters will also need to sort out potentially receiving their bonds back from their condition report and prepare a clean-out of the current rental before worrying about how they’ll decorate the new house.

Links

For further detail on how to tackle these moving house tasks, see below our posts on the topics here:

Starting to Pack

Now it’s time to bust out the bubble wrap and moving boxes and start packing your life one box at a time.

It’s daunting to pack your life into boxes, as the items you own could hold a special place in your heart (or you’re just unwilling to part with something so useful or pricey!). A great way to start is by determining what should be taken to the new home and what isn’t worth the hassle.

Consider asking yourself, when was the last time you used this item? Will you ever use the item again? Am I holding onto it purely for nostalgic reasons? Tough questions will need to be asked as you look to declutter your home, especially if you are downsizing.

Another incredibly useful tip when packing is to prepare a moving checklist detailing the upcoming weeks of packing, being sure to not leave the packing until the last minute. This checklist should encompass all aspects of packing and moving as a whole, which we’ve already got you started on with our great Moving Checklist below.

Links

Here are some packing tips to get more in-depth with your fragile items and packing materials:

Getting Ready for Moving Day

With the boxes packed and the heavy items waiting to be loaded up, moving day is just around the corner, therefore, it’s time to consider whether you’ll be hiring removalists, or if you’ll be doing it all yourself.

Consider the pros and cons of both options and make a decision that best fits your circumstances. If you have friends and family available to help you move, then a DIY move with a simple truck hire might be an affordable and convenient option for you.

On the other hand, hiring professional removalists can cut out the hassle during an already busy and stressful time. With over 14,000 different removalists in Australia, there are plenty of moving companies around to assist you. The downside is that it can be costly, especially if you have a large volume of items to move.

Luckily, our friends at Muval put together a great comparison service between removalists to give you the best price available. Want an idea of how much it’s going to cost you? See Muval’s helpful breakdown of estimated removalist costs by State, residence size and volume of items.

There are also valuables you must consider during the moving process, as fragile items could easily break when moving from the old address. When moving home, you should feel as comfortable and safe as possible, so it’s not a bad idea to check out some insurance policies before moving day.

Links

For more info on contents insurance as well as finding a removalist, check out our links below:

Moving Day has Arrived

The penultimate day is here and you’re ready for the task at hand, but now it’s time to get into the nitty-gritty and see what makes the moving day so daunting.

On top of all the items, you need to move from your old property to the new address, there are also added difficulties depending on your own circumstances. For instance, the day you move may not be the bright sunny day you were hoping for and you may have no other choice but to move when it’s raining.

Moving house in the rain can cause some issues, as items can become water-damaged quite easily in common cardboard boxes, as well as causing more problems with potential spills and falls.

There also may be family members that need care and monitoring to consider, such as children and pets, particularly as moving is often a hard time of adjustment. Providing that extra care and reassurance on top of all the other things you have to do can make the moving day an exhausting process, both physically and emotionally.

Take extra care and protect your items and the new property when moving large pieces like furniture and appliances, as they can easily cause damage to the property and potentially ruin your chances of getting your bond back in a rental.

It’s a great idea to note during your move what is already damaged before the move and anything after, as it can help you distinguish further down the line what constitutes wear and tear and what falls under damage.

Links

For more information on home deterioration, as well as helpful guides on moving situations listed above, see our helpful links below:

Final Comments

With the big move out of the way, now comes the time to start making this new address home and fill it with all the items you’ve moved over.

If this is your first move out of home, check out our guide on Moving Out for the First Time here. Furthermore, if this is your first rental property and you’re still unsure about renting as a whole, check out our post on What you should know about renting here.

Lastly, it isn’t a home without electricity or gas to power the property from the moment you move in.

If you need help getting your utilities connected sorted, please call MyConnect on 1300 854 478 or use the Get Connected form here! If you’re unsure about using a utility connection company, hopefully, this post here can assist you.